Coronavirus tally: Global cases of COVID-19 82.8 million and second U.S. case of new U.K. variant found in California

The global tally for confirmed cases of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 rose to 82.8 million on Thursday, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University, while the death toll rose above 1.8 million. The U.S. has the highest case tally in the world at 19.7 million and the highest death toll at 342,414, or more than a fifth of the global total. The U.S. counted at least 229,235 new cases on Wednesday, and at least 3,808 people died, according to a New York Times tracker. In the last week, the U.S. has averaged 183,271 cases a day, down 13% from the average two weeks ago. There are currently a record 125,220 COVID-19 patients in U.S. hospitals, according to the COVID Tracking Project, breaking the record set a day ago. California is the second state after Colorado to discover a case of the new U.K COVID variant that is more infectious but does not make people sicker.
Brazil has the second highest death toll at 193,875 and is third by cases at 7.6 million. India is second worldwide in cases with 10.3 million, and third in deaths at 148,738. Mexico has the fourth highest death toll at 124,897 and 13th highest case tally at 1.4 million. Italy has 73,604 fatalities, the highest in Europe, and 2.1 million cases. The U.K. has 2.4 million cases, the most in Europe, and 72,657 deaths, second-highest in Europe and sixth highest in the world.